The Daily Item reports that the Essex district attorney's office dropped the charge after a grand jury declined to indict 39-yeare-old Shane Dennis.

Dennis had been charged with the fatal stabbing of 46-year-old Jose Jaime-Mina outside a city house on March 5. Neighbors say the run-down house at which the stabbing occurred is a haven for drug users and squatters.

Dennis was freed on $25,000 bail after pleading not guilty.

Neither defense attorneys nor prosecutors have discussed details of the case in open court, and the court files have been sealed.